Srinagar, April 3 -- Jammu and Kashmir's political leadership, including chief minister Omar Abdullah and former CM Mehbooba Mufti, on Thursday raised questions or sought a probe into the recent Ganderbal encounter after a family in Central Kashmir alleged that the youth slain in the encounter was not a terrorist and was their son. Omar Abdullah took to X saying that the family should be heard. "I believe the claim of the family should not be dismissed out of hand. At the very least this encounter needs a transparent and time bound probe with the facts made public. Any attempt to obfuscate or delay the announcement of a probe will only damage credibility & that is not in anyone's interest," Omar said. Army on Wednesday said that a joint search operation was launched by security forces in Arahama area of Ganderbal in which a "terrorist" was killed. The police or army have not yet revealed the identity of the dead. However, the family of a youth Rashid Ahmad Mughal told media that the deceased was their son, and he had "no link with militancy." Mehbooba Mufti said that there were allegations that the Ganderbal encounter is fake. "There was an encounter in Arhama in which a 29 year old youth Rashid Mughal was killed. There are allegations that this is a fake encounter. The army initially said he was a foreign militant but later said he was a local involved with militancy," she told media. "He was an orphan running an NGO. They didn't give his body to the family but buried him in Baramulla. This is what is happening to our youth," she said. The office of member parliament from Srinagar, Agha Ruhullah Mehdi, demanded a time bound probe. "The family of Rashid Ahmad Mughal, killed in the Ganderbal encounter, says he was an innocent civilian with zero links to militancy. His own clothes were changed. The army refuses to reveal his identity," said Mehdi on X. "These are gravely serious allegations. Silence from J&K Police is unacceptable.We demand a time-bound, independent probe," he said. On Wednesday, the army's Chinar Corps said that a joint operation was launched in Arhama and a cordon established. "During the search, vigilant troops observed suspicious activity. On being challenged, terrorists opened fire and our troops retaliated. Operation is in progress," it said on X. Later, the corps updated: "During the night of Mar 31, 26, the cordon was tactically reorganised amid the intermittent firing underway. Own troops effectively retaliated with a calibrated response resulting in one terrorist eliminated."...